Nearly 100% failure rate for direct sown seeds...what's up?!

What am I doing wrong? Whether it's veggies, annuals, or perennials I just do not have much luck with seeds. I had 1 hollyhock out of 6 that germinated, 1 cuke out of 6, 3 out of 6 dichondra, only about half of the morning glory, none of nasturiums, etc. The only thing that germinated nearly completely were the cosmos! They were not old seeds and they were from reputable companies, so I know that it must be something I'm doing/not doing. I suspect that the ones direct sown maybe aren't getting enough moisture. I can only water them once a day and sometimes the soil is dry again by the next day. The ones I start indoors with peat pots are a little more successful. Any tips or advice? Tamara

If you know where you put the seeds (i.e. you didn't scatter them) you can try putting a wooden board/plank/small rock/plastic pail etc. over the seed to keep the soil moist until germination (water once a day). When the first leaves emerge take the board etc. off.

I put a wooden plank over my carrot seeds and had great success! I'm pretty new to gardening and was very excitied as I was told carrots were difficult to germinate as they needed constant moisture.

Just a note: This wouldn't work for anything requiring light for germination.

Can you describe or take a pic of your soil?

A lot of seedlings get eaten by cutworms or bugs before you even see them. See my post in Frugal Living about using the large clear plastic containers that vegetables and fruits come in at Costco as greenhouses.

You can also use them to cover spots where you've sown seeds. It helps keep the soil moist and keeps the bugs away. I've even used the bottoms of the shallow Rubbermaid boxes to cover large areas/ Stick a couple of rocks on top of them to hold them down.

Or if you want to get fancy, buy some floating row covers.
http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=2005&bhcd2=1150325848

Or even a thin layer of mulch to help keep things nice and moist. Still water it every day though . . . I use lawn clippings to cover the places I've sown seeds.

I actually do have some floating row covers still in the package from last season's clearance sales. I'll try that, as I'm pretty sure it is because the soil is drying out too fast to allow the seeds to germinate (or they dry up before they get their next drink). Tamara